Happy Monday Everyone! Today I am thrilled to have Jessica Lawson here again with her agent Tina Wexler to share about Jessica's new MG WAITING FOR AUGUSTA. Jessica has been a long time follower, and I have been so excited to watch her career grow since she published her debut MG novel in 2014. It's not easy to continue to sell new manuscripts to publishers, especially in MG genres, but Jessica has found her niche and this is her third book.

With a fresh, funny voice, lots of adventure, and a healthy dose of magic, the author of The Actual & Truthful Adventures of Becky Thatcher and Nooks & Crannies—which School Library Journal called “original, engaging, and funny” in a starred review—comes a profound tale of love, loss, and family.

Eleven-year-old Benjamin Putter has a lump in his throat, and he’s certain it’s a golf ball. He knows it sounds crazy, but everything’s been topsy-turvy since his father died last month. And he doesn’t know how to fix it.

Then, one day, something starts tugging at Ben, telling him to hurry to Augusta, Georgia—home of the most famous golf course in the world.

Ben might be going a little crazy, but escaping Hilltop, Alabama, sounds like a darn good idea. (And just maybe it will make that lump go away.) As he makes his way to Augusta, Ben partners up with a mysterious runaway named Noni, and they embark on a journey full of strange and wonderful surprises—and possibly magic—at every turn.Now here's Jessica interviewing Tina!

Selling Past Book One:

Finding Your Niche As A Children’s Author

(Waiting for Augusta &
Query Critique Giveaway)

My third book, Waiting
for Augusta, came out last week and I couldn’t be more thrilled. Having a first
book published was a dream come true, and it doesn’t get any less exciting with
subsequent titles. Still, there comes a moment after that first sale or second
sale when we writers start thinking, “How can I make that magic happen again?
How do I find my niche in children’s literature?”

I think there can be a concern that we writers have to
market ourselves as being consistent and reliable within a specific genre. Some
authors are great at writing beautiful, dynamic stories that fit very nicely
into a specific category—contemporary/realistic, mystery, fairy-tale
retellings, etc. They’ve got their sweet spot and they write the heck out of
it. Agent Tina Wexler didn’t get so lucky with me. My ideas are kind of all
over the place.

So far, her sales for me include a retelling of Mark Twain’s
classic The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

(The Actual & Truthful Adventures of
Becky Thatcher), a period mystery set in England with slightly over-the-top
characters (Nooks & Crannies),
and a historical journey story w/ hints of magical realism that incorporates
themes of racism and grief (Waiting for
Augusta). How the heck did she manage to do that for me? I suspect she has
superpowers.

But really, what happens when our ideas and manuscripts
don’t play nice in terms of being consistent? How important is it for an author
to find their marketable “niche,” and how do authors and agents work together
when forging ahead with what both of them hope will be a lengthy career?

There’s just one way to find out—please welcome Tina Wexler,
Agent Extraordinaire!

Read on for Tina’s thoughts and advice about finding your
niche as a writer. Just leave a comment to be entered to win a hardcover of Waiting for Augusta and a query critique
from Tina!

When
you pitch an author’s second, third, fourth books, how aware are you of
building a consistent platform with that author’s work? What if your author
wrote a historical/realistic novel and now wants to write about irritable/mischievous
car gnomes or dragons (note: my 7YO daughter is constantly asking why there
aren’t dragons in my books)?

I’m always aware of how an author’s new
book will build on what’s come before, though I’m less concerned with consistency
in genre than I am with maintaining that special something that marks each book
as being written by that author. Your three books have several fundamental
qualities that make them “Jessica Lawson” books: they are wickedly funny, they
have distinct narrative voices, and they are grounded in a very specific time
and place. They explore what is gained and what is lost by trying to fit in, what
it means to be a good person, and the various ways one can define “family.”
They introduce kids who have suffered big losses and are trying to find their
way. They include a good amount of adventure, danger and mystery. And they tug
very, very hard at my heartstrings. These are the things I’ve come to expect in
your books, though your books come at these various themes in completely
original ways. So when I’m pitching your next idea, I’m pitching both the ways
in which it offers your readers something new---new premise, new characters,
new setting, new voice---but also the ways in which it gives them exactly what
they know and love about your stories. And maybe one day, dragons.

When
you offer representation for a manuscript and ask about other
works-in-progress, do you like to see a pattern in the writer’s ideas—is your
agent brain already thinking of how this writer might be branding themselves?
Along that line, do you brainstorm manuscript ideas with clients based on how
you see their career being maintained or advancing?

I do look for commonalities that
will help brand the author and I pay close attention if the author wants to
write for many different age groups and/or in many different genres. I try to
envision what her publishing map will look like. (You know how I love maps!) But
mostly I’m hoping to hear original and ambitious ideas that I’ll be interested
in reading, that speak to one another in some way, and that I feel confident I
can sell. Sometimes, I’ll help an author brainstorm or figure out which project
would be best to pursue next, though I tend to subscribe to the “write the one
you’re most passionate about/scared to write” selection process.

What
happens if book one is published, but doesn’t do great in terms of reviews or
sales—does that limit your ability as an agent to submit a similar genre or
storyline? Does it present any challenges that authors should be aware of as they
prepare to write their next manuscript?

Low sales or negative reviews can limit
my ability to get a second book the attention it deserves, and may mean the
author needs to consider a different genre or age group. But if the author delivers
a second book that has a strong premise, engaging characters, big ideas and
powerful themes, I can speak to the author’s potential and growth and the
likelihood of an upward sales trajectory. For those editors looking to build
authors, that’s a solid place to work from.

Is there any
other advice (other than “write a great book”) you would give to both querying and
agented writers in terms of finding their own unique voice within children’s
literature?

Write the story only you can tell.

Thank you SO much for
having us on Literary Rambles—I’ve been a follower for years and it’s an honor
to be able to participate with posts like this!

Jessica has generously offered a copy of WAITING FOR AUGUSTA for a giveaway and Tina is

offering a query critique. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower (just click the follow button if you’re not a follower) and leave a comment through May 21st. If you do not want to be included in the query critique giveaway,
please let me know in the comments. If your e-mail is not on your Google
Profile, you must leave it in the comments to enter either contest.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry. Both giveaways are international.

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday was started by Shannon Messenger. You can find the participating blogs on her blog.

Here's what's coming up:

Next Monday I have an interview with debut author Lindsey Klingele and a giveaway of her YA fantasy THE MARKED GIRL.Then I'm off the following Monday for Memorial Day. My first Monday off since the first of the year!Wednesday that week I have a guest post by Fauzia Burke, who has spent her career working in book promotion and marketing and has worked with authors like Sue Grafton, Tim Burton, and Deepak Chopra, and a giveaway of her book, ONLINE MARKETING FOR BUSY AUTHORS: A STEP BY STEP GUIDE.The following Monday I have a guest post by Cassandra Brown, a freelance editor, with a query, synopsis, 10 page manuscript critique, or 30 minute consultation--winner's choice.Thursday that week I'll be participating in the Debut Author Book Giveaway Hop. I'll have both YA and MG debut books to choose from.The following Monday I have a guest post by debut author Jen Bishop and a giveaway of her MG contemporary THE DISTANCE HOME.

64 comments:

This one sounds like another great story from Jessica. I spent some time teaching in Augusta so can't wait to read a book using this iconic place as the setting. Superb interview with many unique insights into the publishing journey beyond the first book.

Wonderful interview. This was just what I need to read this morning, because my books and book ideas are all over the place too. I'm published in picture books and have several picture book manuscripts, but am also working on two middle grade novels which seem as different as day and night. One is a very serious Civil War MG novel and the other is a magical MG novel. After reading this interview I realize that the heroines in the two novels have the same type of spunk and off-hand sense of humor. Please enter me in the giveaways. louisianabook@yahoo.com

With so many writers focused on finding an agent and getting that first book deal, it is fascinating reading about what happens next. Ms. Lawson's book sounds like a great read to add to my list. (I tweeted: https://twitter.com/ericgsteinberg/status/732238209040539648)

Sorry to piggy-back on your comment, Kathleen, but I can't find a comment box otherwise....I would also love a critique. And how wonderful that Jessica's books tug very, very hard on Tina's heartstrings! Natalie--do you know why it's difficult for me to comment on your site? Does this comment count? Thanks....

An excellent guest post! Thank you. I've loved Jessica's first two books and I'd love to win either WAITING FOR AUGUSTA or the query critique. I tweeted: https://twitter.com/JoanneRFritz/status/732276791361085444

This interview made my heart sing, as I suspect I may be one of those writers whose work needs a map in order to put them all together. Thanks so much for the wise thoughts and encouragement!

I will gladly accept the query critique (as it happens I could use one just now) and will cross my fingers I can win Waiting for Augusta!Email, just in case you don't spot it elsewhere, is spartan_writer (at) yahoo (dot) com.

Thanks for the interview and chance to win a copy of the book. I don't have a query for review at this time, so please opt me out of that part of the giveaway. I shared on tumblr:http://yesreaderwriterpoetmusician.tumblr.com/post/144516121152/literary-rambles-agent-tina-wexler-and-jessica

I really appreciate how the agent interviews handle different aspects of the business. I use this information on my editorial job. I'd be grateful for a query critique--and I did tweet about this as well. Have a great day!

What an interesting post! Waiting for Augusta sounds like an awesome read. What a great cover! It was very helpful reading about an agent's perspective on pitching a second or third book by an author (in the same genre). Thanks for sharing! ~Jess